People need to connect with other people and maintain relationships. It is a fundamental necessity. But with the COVID-19 pandemic, everyone is forced to stay home, and are unable to meet others in real life. The effects of normal loneliness and forced isolation are different. A study on mice showed that when they were forced to isolate themselves from other mice, they started to want more social engagement. This connects to people, which supports the theory that being social is a basic need for humans.
In a study conducted by Livia Tomova and Rebecca Saxe, some subjects fasted for a full day, while others were in isolation for a full day. They found that people who were more lonely before forced isolation wanted to socially interact with others less than people who weren’t as lonely before. There is a “social homeostasis” hypothesis, which is that animals evolved to want to connect with others.
Personally, I don’t need much face to face interaction. Talking, chatting, or going on an online meeting is enough for me. When I chat online, I can think more about what I’m going to say and lower the chances of me messing a conversation up. Also, communicating online is more convenient, because I can go into a call anytime I have free time. I would like to see my friends in real life, but I don’t crave it a lot.